What Friends Are For
by giverofgrace
Summary: One-Shot. Random drabble on Alex during and after his wife's death


**Random One-Shot:**

Love. Something that he had never thought he would ever do. Love another. He couldn't. It was just too dangerous. And yet, he did. He loved with all his heart.

He still remembers her face on their wedding day. It was shining. She looked like an angel as she floated down the aisle.

Her face was glowing with an emotion that he felt for the first time on this day. Joy. For the first time in his life, Alex felt joy in his heart.

She had been a beautiful wife. Someone to love and to care for. Someone to calm him down when his nightmares got too bad. Someone who would stay up at night, waiting for him to return home once more.

Someone who could make him forget about the evil in this world. Someone he could rely on and trust whole-heartedly. He was the luckiest man alive.

And he got to enjoy her company for a full four years. Four years of bliss before it all came crashing down.

They had been on a walk through the city of Paris on vacation. The streets were crowded, but neither cared. They were together and that's all that mattered. Their son had been left with her parents for a week. It was just perfect.

And that's when he felt it. A prickling on the back of his neck. Some sixth sense warning him. But of what?

He was about to grab his wife and pull them into one of the shops when he was shoved.

He stumbled to the side, caught by surprise. And that's when he heard the cry of pain.

He quickly spun around and grabbed his wife as she fell to the ground. He gently lowered her and grabbed her hand, examining the wound. Her chest was a bloody mess. And in that moment, Alex knew.

He knew that a sniper had been lined up to kill Alex. And his wife had pushed him out of the way, taking the bullet for herself.

It was a fatal wound. Already, the brightness of her eyes was fading away.

"I love you," Alex managed to choke out, realizing for the first time that there were tears running down his face.

"Love…you…too," She managed to gasp out.

Alex heard sirens in the distance, but he knew it was too late.

"Alex, promise me…you…won't…go…cold," She said with her last dying breath.

Alex held her body and cried. Cried like he never had before. His grief overwhelmed him and he could do or see nothing. She had been the light of his life. Heck, she had been the life inside of him. And now she was gone. And there was nothing left in the world. Nothing left to live for.

He answered the police's questions robotically. He couldn't have repeated the questions they asked him even if he wanted to. His mind was in a grief induced daze. Suddenly, he found himself stumbling down the streets and to the park that he had been at earlier with his wife. He knew not of how he got there, but there he was. He saw the mothers pushing their children on the swing and he realized something.

His wife would never be one of those mothers. She would never push their son on a park swing. She would never get to see him grow up. Their son would have no memory of his mother.

Alex was startled out of his daze world when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?" he mumbled.

"Alex? Thank God! You're still okay, right?" the voice on the end questioned.

"I'm fine, but she-"

"I know, Alex. That's why I'm calling. I'm at the airport now. I'll be there within an hour or so. Where are you?"

Alex looked at his surroundings, once more startled at his location, "I'm…I'm…On a bridge."

The voice on the other end became sharp, "Alex. Don't do it."

Alex said nothing. He couldn't really say that he had planned to do it, but his subconscious mind had brought him here, so he must be contemplating it.

"Alex. Here's what you are going to do. You are going back to your hotel room. And you are going to sit there and wait for me. You are not going to do anything. You hear me?" the voice was harsh and commanding. Alex found his feet following the man's instructions.

"Alex?"

"I'm going, Ben. I'll be there."

"You had better be…my flight's about to take off. See you soon."

Alex snapped his phone shut and made his way to his hotel room to wait.

(PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK)

When Ben walked into the hotel room, he had to admit that he was surprised to see his friend still alive. Kathy had been the love of Alex's life, and it wasn't a surprise that Alex felt he couldn't live without her.

Due to this, Ben was not surprised to see Alex fiddling with a gun.

"Alex," he started and got no reaction. "Put the gun down."

Still no reaction, "Now, Alex." There was a distinct hint of warning in his voice, and Alex looked up.

Ben's heart almost broke to see the pain-filled eyes. This was hurting Alex more than Jack's death. Or Sabina's. Or Tom's.

As Alex glanced down at the gun, he spoke in a soft voice, "I wonder what it's like. To get shot in the head, that is. I mean, do you really instantly die, or is your body aware of some pain?"

"Drop the gun. I will shoot you if need be," Ben continued, pulling out his own gun.

"We both know you won't, and even if you did, you'd just be completing my job for me."

"I may not shoot to permanently harm you in any way, but I have no qualms against shooting your hand to save your life, Alex. Now put it down."

There was a nod, and a clatter came as the gun dropped to the floor.

"You know something Ben? The last thing she told me was not to go cold. You think she knew this was going to happen?"

Ben shrugged and put his own gun away before going and embracing his friend.

Alex allowed him, but tensed and started to struggle as he felt the needle. But Ben held on firmly, and soon Alex collapsed into his arms.

Ben looked down sadly at his unconscious friend. He didn't like drugging him, but it was the only way to ensure his safety from himself. To finish it off, Ben handcuffed Alex's hands in front of him.

Ben had once promised Kathy that he would look out for Alex if anything were to happen to her. And he intended to keep his promise. Even if it meant keeping him prisoner until he snapped out of his daze of grief. That's what friends were for, right?

**A/N: So in case you didn't get it at the top, it's a one-shot. No more chapters. I must say, though. After rereading this, it's a pretty crappy one-shot. Oh, well. Too bad. **


End file.
